Food Grown on West Coast
so should I stop eating local organic produce because of the fallout? or would the innate benefits of whole raw foods be greater than the risk?
i can imagine buying enough frozen organic produce to last a few weeks but it seems like this will be effecting agriculture for at least a few months if not years...
grateful for the data
I'm grateful for the data UCB has posted here. It seems to be the only source.
Ironically,
Ironically much of the point of being a localvore was to decrease petroleum pollution and better communication with customer and farmer. This is a good thing but does suffer the flaw of what happens when you get most of your food from one source.
I hope that farms are willing to get their produce, soil, meat, eggs, and milk and other goods tested.
My Store here in S.D. had
My Store here in S.D. had All dairy products on sale 18% off. I asked the cashier why and she said it was just a in store special.That was all. I wonder if it had anything to do with the news of the radiation on the west coast. They have never done that here before.
There just isn't enough
There just isn't enough information coming out. I play it safe, and am eating out of my "Armageddon box"
At this point I saw lettuce
At this point I saw lettuce in the supermarket for 49 cents a head (instead of the usual $1 to $1.39) and almost bought it til I remembered.....
Canned food processed before 3-11 is probably safer at this point, as is produce shipped in from Chile.
Perhaps fruit with thick skin is safer; ie; bananas, oranges....
I would stay away from food recently harvested locally especially in the massive rainfall of last week.
This is just where we are right now. It's not a place anyone wanted to be. Forget about saving the unaware, this is a Darwinian moment, IMHO. Good luck to all. Thank you UCB for this forum. Please continue regardless of the pressure you may get unbeknownst to us. Go Bears.
I suppose at this point I
I suppose at this point I should write off being a locavore and steer clear of the Berkeley Bowl. Any suggestions on what imported foods are best? Is there a south american equivalent to organic?
Good answer
There is definitely a "putting your money where your mouth is" aspect to this latest response, folks, that we shouldn't ignore. Not arguing for any specific course of action; I'm just saying, this level of transparency and commitment to one's own assertions / conclusions is pretty compelling. I will be keeping it in mind.
Rick Cromack.
Allen, Texas
www.facebook.com/lonestarplano
Hmm...
It definitely puts another spin on things. And makes one think.
My husband and I had a discussion early on about this whole issue. He still thinks I am overreacting a bit but it honestly came down to the fact that if it were just him and I, it would not be as big of a deal. We both have cancer in our families and are already at a statistically higher chance of getting cancer, so I would not be nearly as concerned. Setting aside my frustrations regarding the current circumstances (media UNDERexposure, lack of information, outright withholding of critical information, etc.), if I die of cancer, I die of cancer. Hopefully I lived a good life.
However, I am dealing with a breastfeeding five month old and a 3 year old.
Therefore, to me, the statistical chance of my son being the 1 in 200,00 from drinking potentially contaminated milk is too high of a threshold for me to be comfortable with. Even more so with my daughter, again, since she is breastfeeding. At the very least, this has caused me to reconsider our entire family diet and for the meantime, my peace of mind is derived from knowing that I am attempting to keep the exposure to my children at a minimum. This would include staying out of the rain, avoiding leafy greens, all those things previously discussed. And I am adhering to this same diet so as to minimize the bio accumulation exposure to my daughter. I should note, however, that my husband has continued and will continue to drink milk and could care less what vegetables he is eating and from where. :0)
It has made me realize, yet again, that there are things in this world we cannot protect our children from and it will do them more hazard than good to keep them in a protected bubble. They need to spend time outdoors, they need to eat fresh produce and they still have to take baths. (Have you had to smell a stinky three year old? Not taking a bath is NOT an option.) :oP
It definitely makes one think and will continue to cause me to reevaluate and adjust my decisions regarding the well being of my children.
But again, this is just my personal opinion.
In the meantime, I grieve and sympathize (as best I can) with the parents in Japan. God only knows what they are having to deal with. It makes our problems seem rather trivial.
Sounds familiar
My wife and I were just having pretty much the same argument (about milk and milk products). She has taken a stand: She is NOT going to stop eating cheese, period, no matter what I cite or point her to.
I, too, am being widely seen as an "alarmist", if not an outright "doomsayer". Things in my house are very stressful at the moment: My daughter doesn't understand why, after she does her cheerleading routines on the grass outside, I ask her to wash her hands before she touches her face, mouth, eyes, nose, etc. My wife thinks I'm being absurd; that whatever is out there is bound to get in here, and everywhere else, eventually; and if this is what's coming to us, well, that's what's meant to be, since no one in this hemisphere can run and hide from it.
I am just not able to be so sanguine. Neither can I trust the Government, who scarcely seems to be paying attention to this AT ALL, other than a couple courtesy phone calls between heads of state and the EPA's RADNET and other monitoring information (that has been called into question, itself).
I just don't feel comfortable relying on, "Oh, well, the Government will let us know if there's a danger." Like Hell. The same Government that kept Chinese toys covered with lead paint out of the U.S.? (Oh, wow, to have THOSE days of comparatively minor worry and stress back...) The same Government that did such a bang-up job with the bird flu vaccines? The same Government that... Oh, heck, nevermind. I'm going to have a heart attack if I go on this way.
Anyway. These are dark, dark times. I pray for the safety of your family, JMS -- and of mine.
Rick Cromack.
Allen, Texas
www.facebook.com/lonestarplano
Sigh
You have my sympathy, Rick. I tried to have a discussion with my father last night: yeah, that went over well. Let's just say he doesn't agree. Btw, on a previous post you made, I offered to swap ideas if you want. At least it would give you another concerned parent to talk to.
- Jen
I appreciate it, Jen...
...Maybe we'll be in touch tomorrow. At some point I have to get some sleep; I haven't, basically, in four days.
Rick Cromack.
Allen, Texas
www.facebook.com/lonestarplano
RichardFCromackJr@gmail.com
I asked Trader Joe's the
I asked Trader Joe's the following question and below it I've inserted their response. I don't know why I expected a direct answer. Anyway here's the exchange:
Q:How can I tell where your produce was grown? Radiation has rained on northern California so I need to know where the fruits and vegetables come from so I can decide what to eat. Also, where are the cows located that produce Trader Joe's milk? Thanks.
A:Thank you for contacting us with your inquiry regarding our products.
We want to assure you that currently any produce in our stores is indeed safe for consumption. Although we will always disclose the country of origin for any of our produce items that are sourced from outside of the U.S., we also absolutely stand behind the integrity, safety and quality of any of our private-label products, or those that are packaged and produced specifically for Trader Joe's. However, we are not able to disclose the specific supplier information, as these products are packaged specifically for Trader Joe's and our vendor information is kept strictly confidential per our agreement with our supplier.
However, we are always more than happy to address any specific concerns or questions you may have regarding any of our products.
We are also full aware of the recent news information, and want to further assure you that we would not sell any products that we would not consume ourselves. Our Quality Assurance is keeping a very close watch on the situation, and we would immediate remove any product for which we had any safety or quality concerns. In addition, we also wanted to share with you the information that is being circulated in the media does not stress that the levels currently represented are still 500X below what would be considered unsafe for consumption.
Please feel free to also check back on our website for any updated information in this regard as it becomes available, and always your store Captain or First Mate is always more than happy to address any questions or concerns you may have on an immediate basis. There is nothing more important to us that the complete health, well-being and safety of our customers, and we do hope this information helps.
Sincerely,
Hazel
Trader Joe's
Customer Relations
This would be laughable...
...If it wasn't so deadly serious, and if they weren't so totally in earnest. This is the kind of crap we have to deal with... Unbelievable.
Rick Cromack.
Allen, Texas
www.facebook.com/lonestarplano